Some cool news for our Québécois neighbours to the east, that might act as inspiring to us out west:

"The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity has designated Montreal as "UNESCO City of Design" as part of the Creative Cities Network," announced today Gerald Tremblay, Mayor of Montreal, and Benoit Labonte, member of the executive committee responsible for culture, heritage and design.

With this honour, Montreal becomes the first North American city to join the recent UNESCO City of Design network after Buenos Aires (August 2005) and Berlin (November 2005), in addition to other cities recognized by UNESCO in other fields of excellence, including literature, music, food, cinema, folk art and digital arts.

Through this award, UNESCO recognized the effort and enthusiasm of the public and private sectors, Montreal civil society, as well as the city's potential for economic and social development in the field of design. With the participation of the design community, Design Montreal, applied for this honour at the request of Benoit Labonte and the Montreal executive committee. The certificate will be presented by Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization as part of a visit to Montreal scheduled for the month of June.

"After becoming the headquarters of the International Design Alliance (Icsid and Icograda) last year, this UNESCO award represents major international recognition for Montreal and all our creators and players involved in the fields of design, culture and economy," said Mayor Tremblay. "This title rewards the sustained efforts by Montreal and its partners since the publication of the Picard Report in 1986 which focused on design as one of the priorities of metropolitan economic development. Montreal already exports knowledge in the field of strategic design promotion, since its original Commerce Design Montreal concept was picked up by the cities of New York, Saint-Etienne and Lyon, and it will continue to do so as part of the "UNESCO Creative Cities Network". Design is also one of the elements of the Imagining - Building Montreal 2025 game plan, in which Montreal committed itself to becoming one of the world's most attractive cities, through design quality and innovation," added Mayor Tremblay.